1/1/2010 - On New Years Day we went for a drive to the beach & were hoping for a little tide pool action! This is Moss Beach at Half Moon Bay where we have seen the tidepools before so instead of little sea creatures we spotted a few harbor seals playing in the shores & the kids enjoyed the sand & the water.
Down in the oak grove I was playing around with my camera & leaving it on the ground to see what would happen & here are a couple of my favourite shots. A bud from a Redwood & a cute little acorn with it's hat on!
Here are the kids playing in amongst the foliage and looking for acorns under the huge oaks.
That is Russian Ridge - we have hiked here before on a hot day which wasn't as good as going here in the Winter. The day was a bit chilly but you could see for miles over the valley. Ashwin was trying out my bargain hiking poles from the REI seconds sale! Holly was in the backpack having a good ol' time. We wandered the path down to an old oak grove which was just the perfect spot for a bit of a snack.
On our way back home from Bodega Bay we did a lunch stop off at Petaluma as it looked like an interesting town! There was a lot of Italian restaurants so we found this great little pizza place which was just delicious! After lunch there was this beautiful horse to ride called The Champion at one of the funky stores - the kids had a great time riding him!
As our last evening came to a close with a lovely sunset walk on the beach at dusk. Here is the creek with all the tree debris in the foreground & the hills in the background. There were some lovely reflections in the creek at that time of the evening. Here is our 'green car' ready for it's trip back home. Fully packed with sacks of xmas gifts for the kids & somehow we had eaten most of our food but still we couldn't fit it all in the boot!
It is amazing how fast 5 days flew by. I was planning on all this knitting & relaxing but before I knew it was all over. This is the last sunset we saw at Salmon Creek Beach near where we stayed & it was just beautiful. I truly appreciate these times when I can be in natural surroundings & enjoy the sunset. There were many days that I just took it all for granted but now it is something to treasure. Ashwin was like a little wild animal running around the beach at dusk really enjoying the cold winter air on his bare feet. He had just been stomping in a huge puddle in his doggie rain boots & managed to get them & his socks soaked!! Holly was cruising along with Daddy being careful.
Look at these two mischief makers! Ashwin is eating grass while Holly just loves to climb everywhere - so here she is on top of the picnic table. It is so lucky to capture a shot of both of them smiling & even looking at the camera!
As we were hanging out away from the Fort - James was out checking out the cliff with the harbour seals. Ashwin, Holly & I were playing hide & seek in the rocks. The Fort is in the background & it was quite huge. The kids had a ball checking out the houses within the fort with their beautiful hardwood floors & furniture. We also saw some amazing artifacts from the day - skins of sea otters which the Russians would trade back in the day. The story was that in 2 years the sea otter population was practically decimated. Now we see them floating around in aquariums & hopefully in the future we are planning a trip out to whale watch & hopefully see them in their natural habitat in Monterey Bay.
in the car that is! Here we are at Fort Ross which is a windy hour drive up Highway 1 - just like being in a video game with all it's twists & turns. Fort Ross is a historical landmark overlooking cliffs which look down into a Pacific Ocean full of Harbour Seals. While we were driving along the water was peppered with black dots, so we stopped put the video camera on super zoom & there they were seals just floating around in the water. The population was phenomenal & I've never seen so many out in the wild. These pics are at the Fort - lillies overlooking a cliff & Holly ringing the bell for church. The writing is Russian if anyone was wondering!
When in Bodega Bay a must visit location was Spud Point Crab Company just for the best Clam Chowder in Bodega Bay. Even though this wasn't served a la Fisherman's Wharf in a sourdough bowl - it was just divine! As you can see Holly was enjoying every little morsel as well. Winter was a perfect time to enjoy this clam chowder too being so warming. As part of our lunchtime feast we enjoyed the home made crab cakes which were delicious - I so wanted to get some more but at $9 for two it seemed a bit excessive! Maybe I could have had a crab sandwich too as the crabs were in season. The other day I took Ashwin to Whole Foods & he saw Dungeness Crabs in real life, stacked neatly on ice.
The kids are posing in one of the fallen giants in the forest. It was quite a cold day as you can see our outfits in the pics. We wandered through all the paths & passed some amazing looking trees full of moss & lichen. This is the oldest of the forest at 1400 years. We really loved this hike even though it was so cold - it really is a special place, thank you Mr Armstrong for keeping it safe! BTW he was a lumberman in the 1870's who preserved this area for generations to come :)
Here is the shot of Holly's first experience with Father Christmas - at least she sat on his lap, even though she is screaming! When I used to take Ashwin for his yearly visit he screamed & would not even go near the Santa Claws. Afterwards we went to see a Children's Theatre show which involved the children in the audience & Ashwin boldly went up on the stage. He was learning some acting techniques from the performers & had a great time up there. Looking a bit Starstruck here, he scored himself a certificate from the Theatre Company for all his efforts!
Here we are at the Dickens Fair for the second year in a row. We enjoyed it the first time round so we thought we would hit it again! It was still fun to see all the wonderful costumes - see my favourite Little Bo Peep with Ashwin! We hung around long enough to make it in time for Father Christmas (thanks to Matt & Daria for the help!) I had to capture the moment & Matt had Holly & James took Ashwin up to see the man himself. I was so thrilled to see Ashwin enjoy himself & have a good old chat to Father Christmas - Holly was not buying into it at all!
Check out this beautiful blue sky - as I write this the weather outside is rainy, overcast & cold - mmm January. These pics was taken over the Thanksgiving weekend at Shoreline near the lake. The kids always have a great time here too - nothing like a bunch of rocks to climb. I visited Shoreline again after the Christmas break & the willow tree, where Ashwin was fishing, was all bare.
Heading back from Marin we travelled back over the Golden Gate Bridge to the home. I really enjoy these opportunities when we are viewing a evening sky, as these days I am usually in the kitchen making dinner!
After all the food & alcohol we had consumed over Thanksgiving - the day where you just eat & eat & eat! We went for a hike to Mt Tamalpais with some friends of ours who enjoy a good hike too! This was definitely challenging as it was cold & rainy & the trails were all wet, so you had to be super careful not to slip. Thank goodness for hiking boots I say! This hike was at Cataract Falls where we saw around 4 waterfalls - from little ones to a decent size one near the rocks where we had our picnic lunch. It was a really enjoyable hike & there was lots to see with the beautiful yellow Maple leaves in between the lush green trees. The hike was right near a massive dam so there was No Swimming :)
The cute little puppy & Holly riding the dolphin & Ashwin enjoying the big yellow truck that did not belong to anyone!
It is so unlike the one in NYC but hey it was a pretty cool place to spend the morning with the kids! They had a fab time on the springs & also driving around on the wagon play structure. There was a huge duckpond with a water fountain plus loads of ducks & geese for the kids to play with.
Thanksgiving feast at Ashwin's school - we are patiently waiting for our turn to go to the table of goodness. Every year they have a lunch time feast - so you do not need to eat for the rest of the day! There was so much food that you just pile your plate high & eat away. Plus you have to leave room for a piece of pie - pumpkin, pecan all ever so sweet! I cannot say that I am a fan of either pie - I do miss the pies from the Victoria Market in Melbourne though, they were delicious!
From huge to small - Ashwin & Holly loved to go & look into the tree caves whenever we found them. This is a burnt out cave that we found at this massive tree. As we were coming ending our hike I found this lovely tiny mushroom growing out of the trunk of a tree.
Ashwin's mission in the forest was looking for banana slugs & here he is finding his first one! From that point on we managed to find a few more.
